Fearless (single)
Fearless is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift in collaboration with Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey and produced by Nathan Chapman and Swift. "Fearless" was released on January 3, 2010 by Big Machine Records as the fifth and final single from Swift's second studio album of the same name (2008). Swift composed the song while traveling on tour to promote her eponymous debut album, Taylor Swift (2006). She wrote "Fearless" in regard to the fearlessness of falling in love and eventually titled her second studio album after the song. Musically, it contains qualities commonly found in pop rock music and, lyrically, is about a perfect first date. "Fearless" generally pleased contemporary critics, many who complimented it for appealing to different age groups. In the United States, "Fearless" debuted and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming the first single released after being certified gold by the RIAA. "Fearless" also entered charts in Canada and Spain. Swift performed the song in various venues, some of which were included on the Fearless Tour (2009–10). Footage from the Fearless Tour performances were used to comprise a music video for "Fearless", directed by Todd Cassetty. The video features both footage of the tour itself and backstage. Chart performance Upon its release as a promotional single, on the week ending November 1, 2008, "Fearless" debuted and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 with sales of 162,000 digital downloads, becoming Swift's third consecutive top ten song on the chart. In the succeeding week, the song fell to number 38 and after four weeks of roaming the Billboard Hot 100 it fell off the charts. Following its single release, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 94 on the week ending March 13, 2010. Its highest position on the chart while being released as a single was number 76 on the week ending April 10, 2010. The song is one of 13 songs from Fearless charted within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record for the most top 40 entries from a single album. "Fearless" spent a total of 15 weeks ascending and descending the Billboard Hot 100. "Fearless" also peaked at number ten on the Hot Country Songs, making this her tenth consecutive top ten hit but also her lowest-charting single, and number 18 on the now-defunct Pop 100. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the purchase of over 500,000 digital downloads. It therefore became the first single released after being certified gold by the RIAA, as a result of digital downloads. As of October 2012, "Fearless" has sold over 1,000,000 copies in the United States, and has since been certified platinum by the RIAA. On the week ending November 29, 2008, "Fearless" debuted and peaked at number sixty-nine in Canada, spending a total of five weeks on the chart. The song peaked at number thirty-two in Spain.